Problem: Let $f(x) = -5x^{2}-2x+6$. Where does this function intersect the x-axis (i.e. what are the roots or zeroes of $f(x)$ )?
Answer: The function intersects the x-axis when $f(x) = 0$ , so you need to solve the equation: $-5x^{2}-2x+6 = 0$ Use the quadratic formula to solve $ax^2 + bx + c = 0$ $x = \dfrac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}$ $a = -5, b = -2, c = 6$ $ x = \dfrac{+ 2 \pm \sqrt{(-2)^{2} - 4 \cdot -5 \cdot 6}}{2 \cdot -5}$ $ x = \dfrac{2 \pm \sqrt{124}}{-10}$ $ x = \dfrac{2 \pm 2\sqrt{31}}{-10}$ $x =\dfrac{1 \pm \sqrt{31}}{-5}$